Construction worker slain while waiting for ride home

Coming out from work, a 22-year-old construction laborer was gunned down while waiting for a passenger vehicle outside the access gate of a five-star hotel in barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City Tuesday afternoon.

The victim, Maximo Bugtong Jr., a bachelor who lived at barangay Gun-ob of the city and who worked for Fareal Builders that has been doing some construction works inside the hotel, was shot on the back at close range and died a little farther from the scene.

The Lapu-Lapu City Police homicide and theft and robbery section under Insp. Francisco Baguio, in its initial investigation, said that Bugtong had just come out of the hotel's gate, at about 6 p.m., and was waiting for a ride home.

Shortly after, an unidentified man approached Bugtong from behind and shot the latter with a gun of still undetermined caliber.

The severely wounded Bugtong tried to run back inside the gate but he fell dead upon reaching there.

A passenger-motorcycle driver, who reportedly witnessed the incident, told police investigators that the assailant, who was wearing a black hat and black T-shirt, quickly fled on foot right after killing Bugtong.

Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation personnel were the first to examine the victim who they later declared as already "unresponsive" and prompted them to bring the body to a funeral house in Mandaue City for autopsy.

The police has already been conducting a follow up investigation to identity and arrest the assailant, and to determine the motive of the killing. - Norvie S. Misa